Trumping the Recession

In 2009, in the midst of a slowing housing market, David and Priscilla Unger, owners of home builder Sun Village, had a revelation.

“Despite the market downturn, we saw buyers out there, but they weren’t being connected with because their needs weren’t being met,” says Priscilla, who cofounded Sun Village in 1999 with her husband. “That drove us to evolve.”

After renaming the company Hunter Residential Developments, the Ungers changed the company’s approach, inside and out. “We used to be fairly traditional in our managerial, building, and marketing strategies; now we’re more in tune with what employees and customers want,” Priscilla says.

Internally, for example, the company implemented a results-only work environment: a human-resource management strategy wherein employees are paid for output rather than the number of hours worked. “In a traditional work environment, employees work from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.,” Priscilla says. “In contrast, we’re a group of telecommuters: our administrative and sales staff, who can tap into our corporate software from anywhere in the world, get their work done when and how they want to. In doing so, we’ve become one-third more productive.”

The company’s innovation wasn’t only internal, however. Externally, Hunter Residential Developments reconsidered what it means to be a first-time homebuyer. “In years past, first-time homebuyers were just happy to break into the housing market, so we focused on keeping prices low,” Priscilla says. “In the past few years, we’ve adjusted that strategy because today’s homebuyers are more savvy. They do their homework and are specific about what their needs are.”

To better document these shifting needs, Hunter Residential Developments asked its client demographic what home features were important to them, and what could be  given up for cost sensitivities. This process has led to several new projects that attempt to address these modern amenities head on.

In Coventry Station, a 179-unit complex on the north end of Calgary, Hunter Residential Developments is seeking to meet the needs of first-time homebuyers with 101 two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhomes (some with garages) and 78 apartments with underground heated parking.

“We’re hitting it all with this [project],” says Priscilla of the development, which offers a number of features unique to a first home, including at least two bathrooms in all units and fiber-optic Internet wiring.

“In the past, we wouldn’t have considered putting those features in a first home because of the price; now, they’re valuable enough that today’s homebuyers are willing to pay for them,” Priscilla says. “That’s because younger people are grouping up more, even if they’re single, with roommates and guests, and they’re technologically reliant.”

At the same time, Hunter Residential Developments is aware of price. Units at Coventry Station start at $227,000, and buyers can choose from 10 interior-design options, the most expensive of which is just $8,000. “We can’t provide a custom product, but we can customize it somewhat to make it appealing to buyers,” Priscilla says. “That’s also important to our customers, because today’s young urban professionals have their own personal style.”

Hunter Residential Developments took a similar approach at the Rushes of Southfork, a 170-townhome development in Leduc, Alberta. With that project, however, the target audience was a different kind of first-time homebuyer: the young family.

“Times have changed,” Priscilla says. “It’s harder for young people to break into the housing market, and many are married with children by the time they buy their first home. We wanted to meet the needs of that demographic.”

To that end, the Rushes of Southfork offers what Priscilla calls a “wholesome and welcoming natural environment” akin to the summer camps of one’s youth. “There are open spaces and parks, all with a woodsy feel, but we’re trying to keep prices at a point that still meets the needs of the entry-level buyer,” Priscilla explains. Prices at the Rushes start at $225,000.